Quarterstaff vs. Staff — What's the Difference?

A quarterstaff (plural quarterstaffs or quarterstaves), also short staff or simply staff is a traditional European pole weapon, which was especially prominent in England during the Early Modern period. The term is generally accepted to refer to a shaft of hardwood from 6 to 9 feet (1.8 to 2.7 m) long, sometimes with a metal tip, ferrule, or spike at one or both ends.

A stick or cane carried as an aid in walking or climbing.

A long wooden staff formerly used as a weapon.

A stout stick used as a weapon; a cudgel.

A wooden staff of an approximate length between 2 and 2.5 meters, sometimes tipped with iron, used as a weapon in rural England during the Early Modern period.

A pole on which a flag is displayed; a flagstaff.

Fighting or exercise with the quarterstaff.

A rod or baton carried as a symbol of authority.

A long and stout staff formerly used as a weapon of defense and offense; - so called because in holding it one hand was placed in the middle, and the other between the middle and the end.

Pl. staffs A rule or similar graduated stick used for testing or measuring, as in surveying.

A long stout staff used as a weapon

A group of assistants to a manager, executive, or other person in authority.

A group of military officers assigned to assist a commanding officer in an executive or advisory capacity.

The personnel who carry out a specific enterprise

Something that serves as a staple or support.

(Music) A set of horizontal lines and intermediate spaces used in notation to represent a sequence of pitches, in modern notation normally consisting of five lines and four spaces. Also called stave.

A building material of plaster and fiber used as an exterior wall covering of temporary buildings, as at expositions.

To provide with a staff of workers or assistants.

To serve on the staff of (an organization).

A long, straight, thick wooden rod or stick, especially one used to assist in walking.

A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written; a stave.

The employees of a business.

(uncountable) A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.^W

A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office.

A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

(archaic) The rung of a ladder.

A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.

(engineering) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

(surgery) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

(military) An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution.

A form of token once used, in combination with a ticket, for safe train movements between two points on a single line.

(transitive) To supply (a business, volunteer organization, etc.) with employees or staff members.

A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an instrument or weapon; a pole or stick, used for many purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or pike.

A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds.

A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff.

A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

The round of a ladder.

A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.

The five lines and the spaces on which music is written; - formerly called stave.

An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. See État Major.

Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendent or manager; sometimes used for the entire group of employees of an enterprise, excluding the top management; as, the staff of a newspaper.

Plaster combined with fibrous and other materials so as to be suitable for sculpture in relief or in the round, or for forming flat plates or boards of considerable size which can be nailed to framework to make the exterior of a larger structure, forming joints which may afterward be repaired and concealed with fresh plaster.

Personnel who assist their superior in carrying out an assigned task;

The body of teachers and administrators at a school;

A strong rod or stick with a specialized utilitarian purpose;

Building material consisting of plaster and hair; used to cover external surfaces of temporary structure (as at an exposition) or for decoration

A rod carried as a symbol

(music) the system of five horizontal lines on which the musical notes are written

Provide with staff;

Serve on the staff of;